ITLOTC
(In The Life Of The Church)
Pentecost
On Mourning (by Jamie)
When Jesus hears that his friend Lazarus is deathly ill, his first response is one of immense confidence: “This is happening so that God may be glorified through me. He will not die but live.” He’s so confident that he takes his time, lingering a couple of days before heading to Bethany, as if to ensure that Lazarus will in fact die.
Along the way, Jesus remains unconcerned, trading cryptic cute discourses with the disciples. He can hardly contain himself when the disciples don’t seem to be getting the hint: “Lazarus is dead, but I’m going to resurrect him.”
He almost seems giddy at the prospect.
He maintains this air of confidence even when Martha comes to him. “If you had been here, my brother would not have died; BUT I trust you and know he will live, and I look forward to the day of resurrection.”
She hedges her grief with a sort of platitude, and Jesus takes it further, essentially saying, “Oh, you don’t even know how much you should trust me: I AM the resurrection and the life. Not later, but today.”
But when Mary comes, inconsolable, she says, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
Full stop.
And the confidence crumbles.
Upon seeing her anguish, and the anguish of her community, Jesus is turned inside out emotionally, and weeps.
And it happens again when they arrive at the tomb.
Literal moments—seconds maybe— away from resurrecting his friend, Jesus’ tears keep flowing.
We are a church, and as churches do, we have gathered around a story of hope; of resurrection. We are cradled in the notion that the worst thing is never the last thing, that all of this is heading toward resurrection, toward re-creation.
Because of this, there are times, whether within our own selves or externally from others, when feelings of grief, of mourning, of sadness, are portrayed as being at odds with the hope of resurrection. Indicative instead of a lack of faith or trust in God.
But this notion is wholly undone in the tears of the One who is the resurrection and the life.
In this story, we are reminded that just because things will be okay doesn’t mean that they are okay right now, or that we have to pretend to be okay right now. And the flip side is also true, just because we allow ourselves to be present to the fact that things are not okay right now, we are not then bound to give ourselves over to the notion that they won’t be okay later.
This is why we are gathering for a Liturgy of Mourning tomorrow. We are in the midst of a prolonged season of loss, and we are all carrying grief. Our community is carrying everything from the acute grief of lost loved ones to the more general loss of a world that had not, in recent memory, lived through a global pandemic. We will gather to honor what has been lost by bearing witness to our grief before God. In doing this, we will also consider the gratitude that drives our grief, and the light that this gratitude offers us as we continue on in life.
If you are in a particularly tender place, and would prefer to see the liturgy ahead of time to determine if that’s going to be a good place for you, just email jamie@ubcwaco.org, and I can send you a transcript of the whole thing.
The Liturgy of Mourning will be at 5:30pm on Wednesday, August 18th. Childcare will be provided. Masks are required.
Meet The Newest UBCer
Name: Richard Zachary Mackey
Birth weight: 8 lbs 8 ozs
Birth height: 21.5 inches
Birthday: July 23rd
Enneagram Number: 2 w 1
Kindergarten Commission + Promotion Sunday
champions, as you know a new school year is upon us. this also means that the tides of change are moving through our church. First, this Sunday kids that are eligible will move to their next classroom. Be praying for them if you think of it, because change is hard. Secondly, next Sunday, August 29th we will be commissioning our Kindergarten champions. If you have a kindergartner and have not been contacted by Taylor, please email her taylor@ubcwaco.org.
Welcome Back Party
It’s that time of year again. School is starting. College kids return. Summer vacations are over. We are all back in Waco, together. So what should we do? Eat a large meal together after church on Sunday August 29th. So bring your hunger for both the word of the Lord and probably some El Crucero that day.
Meet the UBCer
Craig Nash
Liturgy of Mourning (childcare provided)
We will be having another Liturgy of Mourning on Wednesday, August 18th at 5:30PM. It will be the same liturgy we offered at the beginning of July, but we wanted to offer another opportunity with childcare in order to be accessible to more people. We are all carrying various sorts of grief and loss from the past year and a half. This liturgy is a time for us to give attention to that pain as a community, to honor what has been lost, and to grasp for hope together. If you have any questions about the liturgy, feel free to email jamie@ubcwaco.org.
Parishioner of the Week
Mike & Kristen Dodson for hosting our amazing tiedye party. thanks for sharing your home.
Upcoming Events
9/9 Young Professionals Game Night
9/9 College Women’s Group Coffee Kickoff
9/17 Power Point Party
9/29 Liturgy of Gratitude
9/30 Night of belonging
11/5-7 Fall retreat for college students
12/9-10 Study Hall
Leadership Team
If you have a concern or an idea for UBC that you’d like to share with someone that is not on staff, feel free to contact one of our leadership team members.
Chair: Kathy Krey kathykrey@gmail.com
Ben Raley: Benjaminrale y@gmail.com
Bryce Sandvall: Bryce@holeintheroof.com
Katie Valenzuela: KatarinaEValenzuela@gmail.com
Luci Hoppe: lhoppe@gmail.com
Jose Zuniga: jzgrphix2002@yahoo.com
Taylor Torregrossa: Taylordtorregrossa@gmail.com
Student Position: Davis Misloski
Student Position: Maddy O’Shaughnessy
UBC Finance Team
Do you have a question about UBC’s financial affairs? Please feel free to contact any of your finance team members.
Catherine Ballas: catherine@refitrev.com
Jen Carron: jen.carron78@gmail.com
Mike Dodson: financeteammike@gmail.com
George Thornton: GeorgecCT1982@gmail.com
UBC HR Team
If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.
Erin Hill: erin.albin1@gmail.com
Sam Goff: samuelgoff92@gmail.com
Craig Nash: Craig_Nash@baylor.edu
Kristen Howerton: khowerton94@gmail.com
Patrick Broaddus: patrickjbroaddus@gmail.com